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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29967723">You Came Back</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Grooming</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:47:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,488</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29967723</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tom Riddle wasn't worried about coming face to face with a Boggart in DADA.  He knew what he would see, his dead body or his own tombstone.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tom Riddle/Ginny Weasley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>2021 DBQ Round One: Boggart</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You Came Back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">



        <li>In response to a prompt by
            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSlytherinCabal/pseuds/TheSlytherinCabal">TheSlytherinCabal</a>  in the  <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/collections/DBQ2021Round1">DBQ2021Round1</a>
          collection.
        </li>
    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me but are the property of J.K.R. and Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended. The theme for this round of the competition was Boggart and my chosen pairing was Tom Riddle/Ginny Weasley. Comments/Reviews are encouraged by The Slytherin Cabal's Admin Team on all stories in Death By Quill, but comments left by readers are set to be moderated by story authors until the end of the competition in order to protect participants' anonymity. Thank you to my beta for their time and help.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>DADA Class- Boggart day (1940)</p><p>Defence Against the Dark Arts was Tom Riddle’s favourite class. The day arrived for the class to face their worst fears and Tom was prepared to face his mortality. Power was his greatest desire but dying before achieving ultimate power was his only fear; or so he thought.</p><p>When his turn came to face the shape-shifting Boggart, Tom fully expected to see himself dead or his tombstone. What appeared before him was wholly unexpected and shook him to his very core - a witch with flaming red hair. She was deathly still and laying on a cold, wet floor surrounded by a pool of stale looking water.</p><p>Curious, Tom stepped closer to the witch. She was so pale, almost ghostly and barely moving; the slight rise and fall of her chest was the only indication that she was alive. She wore a Hogwarts uniform, but it was slightly different from his, more modern was his deduction.</p><p>“Tom, do you know this witch?” Professor Merrythought questioned, thinking it might be a relative she hadn’t known he had.</p><p>“No Professor, I have not seen her before,” he stated unsteadily as he peeled his eyes from the girl, glancing around to the other students.</p><p>“That’s enough for today. Your homework is to research more about Boggarts and seriously consider what yours may be. We will try more in the next class. Dismissed,” Professor Merrythought said as students started getting up. “Tom, are you alright?”</p><p>“Yes, Professor. I’m fine,” Tom mumbled as he gathered his belongings to head to his next class.</p><p>Once Tom was in the hallway and alone with his thoughts, he allowed his mind to reel... ‘Who was that witch and why in Merlin’s name should I be afraid of her? She should be afraid of me.’ He had seen the Gryffindor crest on her robes. Being afraid of a Lion was unimaginable to Tom Riddle.</p><hr/><p>Tom/Ginny Boggart-Chamber (1992)</p><p>Leaving his diary with Lucius Malfoy worked just as Tom had planned, better in fact. A first-year in possession of his coveted diary, a piece of his soul, was easy to manipulate and twist to his will; a little flirting went a long way.</p><p>Being sorted into Gryffindor House was no surprise for Ginny Weasley; Weasleys had always been Gryffindors. After the Welcome Feast, Ginny found herself unpacking her trunk in her new dorm room. As she finds a new home for her parchment, quills, books and cauldron, she spies a black, leather-bound book that she didn’t remember packing. Thinking her mum must have given it to her as a gift, she slid it into one of her desk drawers to write in later. She would want to remember her first days at Hogwarts, but it was after 10 pm already, and she was exhausted; recording her first day could wait until tomorrow.</p><p>Ginny woke early the next morning. The other girls in her dorm were still sleeping, so she quietly gathered her uniform and headed to the loo to get dressed in peace; sharing a bathroom with so many brothers never led to peaceful mornings. Taking her time, Ginny decided she would record the excitement of her first day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.</p><p>Pulling out a quill and inkpot, she began to write.</p><p>Ginevra Molly Weasley<br/>September 1, 1992.</p><p>I am finally attending Hogwarts. Riding the train from Platform 9 ¾ to Hogsmeade was as spectacular as my brothers had described. Ron even let me sit with him and Harry in their compartment. A girl was sitting with them as well - Hermione Granger. She was nice, and I think we will get along quite well.</p><p>She went on to document the boat ride across the lake, waiting to be sorted, the Sorting Hat placing her in Gryffindor before it even settled on her head completely, the delicious feast, and meeting new friends in her House. As the other girls began to stir, Ginny closed the diary and placed it back in the drawer of her desk, locking it for safekeeping. She and her roommates may become fast friends, but she didn’t know or trust them yet.</p><hr/><p>Tom stirred as he felt someone writing in his diary where the first separated piece of his soul was preserved. At just sixteen years old, Tom had started the process of securing his immortality; embedding a piece of his soul in his precious diary. As a student, he had written many memories in those pages. He had hoped that one day an unsuspecting student would find it and continue his goal to rid Hogwarts of muggle-borns if he hadn’t already succeeded. Tearing his soul was dangerous, he knew that, but his lust for power overruled any fear of repercussion.</p><p>As Tom read the words so carefully written, he grew excited. A young witch had his diary, he knew how to entice a young witch. He was smart and eloquent; convincing ‘Ginevra’ to do his bidding would be a simple enough task. In the end, maybe he would get to meet her, face to face.</p><p>After weeks of reading the meticulously detailed entries, Tom felt as though he knew Ginny Weasley well enough to begin to interact with her. As she was venting about a frustrating day, he responded. Ginny was in love with none other than Harry Potter, her brother’s best friend and her brother wanted her anywhere but with them.</p><p>“I’m sorry you have had a hard day. Would you like to talk more about it?” Tom responded.</p><p>Ginny’s eyes went wide as she froze, ink splashing onto the bottom of the open page as her quill slipped from her fingers. Blinking to clear the haze from her eyes, she read words that were not her own. She slammed it shut, tossed it in the drawer, and cast a strong locking spell on it. No one needed to see what she did.</p><p>Weeks passed without Ginny writing in the mysterious diary. It’s presence in the locked drawer had slipped her mind until another bout of jealousy reared its angry head. She had finally had a moment alone with Harry and all she wanted to do was talk to him, try to get him to notice her. As she was asking him how Quidditch practice was coming alone, her stupid brother and Hermoine Granger plopped down on either side of him for lunch, completely ignoring her.</p><p>She ate in silence, her temper bubbling up, about to explode, when the trio grabbed their bags and left for class. Ginny had a free period, so she stormed up the moving stairs to the Gryffindor dorms. Once she was alone in her room, she jerked the curtains around her bed shut and silenced her bed. If she hadn’t, she thought that her screams would have been heard at Hogsmeade,. She was furious and needed someone to talk to. She considered owling her mum, but she would take Ron’s side; Harry was Ron’s best friend. She still didn’t like, or trust for that matter, the girls in her year; not enough to talk to them about this anyway. Then, she remembered the diary. Someone must have a twin and spelt them to be two-way diaries to be able to communicate when they were apart. Maybe this person would listen to her or help her win Harry.</p><p>Climbing out of her bed, Ginny unlocked the drawer and slowly pulled out the diary, placing it on her desk. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her favourite quill, dipped it in her inkpot and opened to a new page. The unknown person’s words were still there.</p><p>“Hello. My name is Ginny Weasley. Who are you? Do you still want to talk?” she wrote with trembling fingers.</p><p>“I am pleased to meet you, Ginny. My name is Tom,” the stranger replied.</p><p>After the pleasantries, Ginny spilt about how upset she was with her brother and his friends, the boy she had a crush on, and her classes at Hogwarts. After almost an hour of pouring her heart out to a total stranger, she felt a load lifted from her shoulders and her heart. This boy was an excellent listener and made her feel worthy, not just a tag-along little sister.</p><p>“Oh, I have to get to class. Thank you for letting me vent to you, Tom. I’ll be back later. If you have time, I would like to get to know you better,” Ginny said, smiling to herself. Not waiting for a reply, she placed the diary in the drawer and locked it.</p><p>Ginny wrote to Tom almost every day. She told him about her family, how classes were going, asked for advice, and listened as he talked about himself. He was smart, well-read and travelled, and a wonderful listener. Ginny was falling for a man she hadn’t met and wasn’t sure she ever would. He told her many things about himself but left out so much more at the same time. She didn’t know where he lived or his last name, none of that mattered at the moment, she was in school, and he wasn’t. She would be happy to get to know him for a while, maybe meeting him after school broke up for the summer.</p><p>Ginny sought Tom’s advice and friendship more and more as the weeks went by. Every night, before she fell asleep, Ginny pulled the curtains around her bed closed, warded and silenced them before filling Tom in on the events of her day. She asked what occupied his time while she was in class, his answers always vague, but she didn’t mind; she had grown to care for this man she had never met but was trusting more every day.</p><p>Tom started filling Ginny in on The Chamber of Secrets, never divulging how he knew about it. He knew she was falling for him, as he intended. One evening, Tom asked her to deface the hallway outside of one of the bathrooms. She easily agreed, never questioning his request.</p><p>With each mission Tom sent Ginny on, he felt a growing attraction to her as well. With only a few weeks left in the school year, it was time to fulfil his plan. Tom had spent weeks making sure Ginny was willing to help him lure Harry Potter into the Chamber. He had yet to admit his intention to dispose of the boy, but Harry had hurt Ginny and Tom didn’t think she would be opposed to a little revenge.</p><p>Once Ginny emerged from the labyrinth of tunnels that led from the girl’s bathroom to the main room of the Chamber, she tripped, hitting her head, leaving her unconscious. Tom noticed a small body crumpled in the centre of the room. As he walked closer, he froze. A shock of red hair jerked him back to DADA class and the Boggart. Ginny Weasley was what he feared most, or a dead Ginny Weasley.</p><p>Seeing the girl he had grown to care for, lying on the cold, wet stone floor, shocked Tom back to the present. He ran to her side, gently moving her hair from her face, noticing the barely-there movement of her chest; she was alive.</p><p>Letting out a breath of relief, Tom heard someone coming towards him. He knew it had to be Harry Potter. He stepped into the shadows, away from Ginny, letting Harry become distracted by the girl’s almost lifeless body.</p><p>Stepping out of the shadows, Tom approached Harry. He lied, telling Harry that Ginny was alive ‘only just’. As she grew weaker, Tom grew stronger. Tom summoned the Basilisk to end Harry. The boy wouldn’t go down without a fight, much to Tom’s dismay. Somehow, Dumbledore’s bloody bird delivered the Sword of Gryffindor to the kid, and he killed the Basilisk.</p><p>Harry rushed back to Ginny’s side with a fang from the now-dead serpent. Tom watched as the annoyingly resilient boy gripped the long, jagged tooth, raising it above his head to plunge it into the leather bound book, destroying a piece of his soul. Tom muttered a spell hastily, it released his soul from the diary and sent it into Ginny. She would be his for all eternity.</p><p>As Tom’s soul slammed into Ginny, she bolted upright, gasping for air. Blinking to clear her blurred vision, she saw who she knew had to be Tom. He smiled sweetly at her before he slunk back into the shadows and disappeared. Her heart sank, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She had missed meeting the man she loved. As Harry was pulling her to stand, she noticed the diary was still there. Grabbing it, she hid it in her robes when Harry went to pick up his wand.</p><hr/><p>Hogwarts - Final Battle (1998)</p><p>Lord Voldemort entered the Great Hall to finally put an end to Harry Potter and secure his reign over Wizarding England, his gaze abruptly stopping on a red-headed witch standing with The Boy Who Lived. His eyes locked with hers and a shiver ran up his spine, but their intense staring match never wavered even as he stalked into the assembly room to finally finish this bloody war, once and for all.</p><p>Watching Ginny Weasley wrap her arms tightly around Harry Potter shattered something in Lord Voldemort, a scream ripped from his throat. The piece of his soul living in Ginny Weasley sent him back to his sixteen-year-old self. The pale, snake-like skin was gone—as were the red demented eyes. Lord Voldemort was Tom Riddle again, the Tom he was just before his first kill, whose soul had yet to be split. The Tom who was still human, still contemplating his future.</p><p>Ginny stepped closer to Harry when she saw the Dark Lord entering the Great Hall. She knew this had to be the end, one way or another, it would come down to these next moments. He’d slowed his steps and he was looking at her face with an odd expression; she looked back — eyes locking on his. Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry in a crushing hug of luck and family and friendship, but her eyes never left the Dark Lord’s.</p><p>A gut-wrenching scream tore through the Great Hall, breaking Ginny’s locked stare with the soul-piercing red eyes. She blinked to clear her vision and saw a handsome boy kneeling where Voldemort once stood. He was clutching at his torso as if clinging to life. Slowly dropping her arms from Harry, Ginny left the comfort of her friends and family to check on the boy.</p><p>Much to everyone’s confusion, Ginny knelt in front of him and reached for his hands, gently resting hers on his. As she slowly rubbed the back of his hands, pulling his attention to her, she gave him a watery smile.</p><p>“Tom, is it really you? How did you come back to me?” Ginny choked out.</p><p>“Ginny,” Tom gasped as his world went black.</p>
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